Lucky and his Mistress

By Giggles Anderson

Once upon a time, in a land far away, Lucky Dog and his Mistress walked through the forest, a scary place where golden bears and green gators lived and dogs were considered a delicacy. These animals have a powerful sense of smell. Fierce and hungry, they could smell that there was a tender, meaty, not yet captured dog, somewhere in their midst.

They navigated the forest for hours, walking quickly eastward often passing hunters scoured the forest looking for the materials to make alligator purses and bear slippers.

It was an odd sight. A woman clutching a furry white dog to her ample bosom as she stomped through the thicket, crushing twigs and tiny insects in her path. Back at home, Lucky Dog, a pedigree Maltese, only barked when there was a precious pool of oil buried deep beneath the dirt.

Lucky Dog was rare indeed and many evil people would pay a pretty penny to posses him.

And it was the spirit of possession that led Lucky Dog to his current predicament. Fleeing kidnappers who wanted to know the location of Lucky Dog’s latest petroleum find, his Mistress tripped and fell unconscious. Lucky leapt from her arms to avoid being crushed by her body weight and ran as quick as his little legs would take him.

After a while, Lucky Dog returned to his Mistress, only to be greeted by moss and dirt. She was gone. It was as if she had dissolved into nothingness. There were no footprints. Only a note etched in a giant oak tree.

“Meet me at the crossing, due North, 20 degrees, left at the cave, then 42 paces East”

Lucky knew it was a note from his Mistress because it was written in Maltese, the language of Lucky’s home. Only six people in America could read Maltese.

The other four were in Federal prison serving time for tax evasion.

Lucky memorized the directions and was confident he was heading in the right direction. He could smell his Mistress’ perfume. He was not too far from Huckleberry tree when he was accosted by a golden bear. Lucky, not in the mood to be eaten, told the bear that he was standing on at least eighty-seven barrels of oil. The bear happily started digging.

Lucky walked away quickly as he marveled at how greed will disinherit even the hungriest of creatures.

Soon after turning left at the cave, Lucky stumbled upon the slumbering alligator. Lucky was forty-two paces from his Mistress. He was not about to give up now. He began whispering eerily as he tip-toed passed the alligator. He whispered a hypnotic tale of untold wealth and unmitigated joy buried beneath the ground.

Lucky was ten feet away when he heard the hopeful alligator start to dig for a fortune he would never find.

Thirty-eight.

Thirty-nine.

Forty.

Lucky stopped to think about all the obstacles he had overcome in his quest to be reunited with his Mistress. He avoided kidnap. He tricked the bear and hypnotized the alligator into digging so he would not be eaten. Disciplined, he never forgot to keep moving even when his throat was parched and aching feet begged him to stop.

Lucky normally lived a life of leisure, but today Lucky had a rare chance to show his Mistress how much he honored and respected her. She found him as an abandoned pup and never left his side. She loved him before she knew he could locate black gold. She loved him unconditionally.

She loved him even when his precious discoveries turned them both into moving targets.

Forty-one.

Forty-two.

Lucky, thanked the heavens he found a caretaker and excellent friend, raised his head, and uttered a sigh of relief as his Mistress picked him up and carried him to safety.